Reasons Why Selectors Are Giving More Chances To Rishabh Pant
Ever Since MS Dhoni entered the twilight stage of his career, the cricketing fanatics, analysts and the former cricketers are convinced to have Rishabh Pant in the side for his exceptional success in the domestic circuit. However, everything did not go as planned for the youngster, who failed to make things fall in place following his initial success in Test format of the game.
Repeatedly, he delivered poor performances to end up on the wrong side of things. And also, he was at receiving end on quite a few occasions for his wicket-keeping and batting failures for India. Within no time, he lost his place to Wriddhiman Saha in the Test format and also walking on the thin pieces of ice as far as limited-over forms are concerned.
Following the ICC World Cup, Rishabh Pant hardly tasted success playing for India. Apart from one match-winning knock in West Indies, there are merely any performances to speak for him. Despite carrying such a lean form, the BCCI selectors kept on giving him chances to deliver the goods. Speaking on the same, we have figured out three reasons, which might have prompted selectors to test him out once again.
3. A Left-handed batsman in the middle-order:
Rishabh Pant perfectly suits the middle-order of the Indian lineup, especially, with MS Dhoni staying away. The flamboyant batsman is one of the best left-handed batsmen available for India in the shorter format of the game. The team management and the BCCI selectors are persisting with the Delhi lad to bring enough balance to the batting lineup in the limited-over form.
He can be the finisher of the team during crunch situations and can deliver those quick runs for the team in middle overs. Perhaps, it would be the idea of Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri to have Rishabh Pant in the middle-order of India. He will also serve as the wicket-keeper of the team. With the T20I World Cup on its way, the Indian side wants to give him enough chances to get into his groove.
2. Success in overseas conditions:
One of the primary reasons to select Rishabh Pant consistently might be his performances in foreign games. Right in his first tour, he smashed a delightful century against England and followed it up with brilliant knocks in Australia. Rishabh Pant became the first Indian wicketkeeper to score a Test century in England with his 114-run knock.
Later, Rishabh Pant got to his 2nd Test ton in the fourth Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground to dust off quite a few records in International cricket. And also, he was the highlight of the series in England and Australia for his wicket-keeping and sledging aspects, which played a part in India’s success.
Perhaps, the brilliant show on overseas tours has made the selectors rethink about his position in the Indian team. Especially, with the assignment of New Zealand tour on its way, selectors might not want to complicate things.
1. Wants to groom Rishabh Pant for the future:
Perhaps, this reason might have become old. However, still, that could be the primary reason behind giving regular chances to Rishabh Pant in the Indian National Cricket Team across the formats. For more than a decade and a half, MS Dhoni was the regular wicket-keeper for the team, which helped Indian Cricket to have massive success, as sticking to one player had paid rich dividends for India.